How Swiss health insurance premiums are expected to rise in 2024

The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), which sets the annual health insurance premiums, has not yet announced the increase planned for next year, with the figures released in October.

But according to comparison site Comparis, basic health insurance premiums in Switzerland are predicted to increase by an average of 6 percent in 2024.

Comparis health insurance expert Felix Schneuwly said that some health insurers could even raise their premiums by more than 10 percent next year, leaving customers having to dig deeper into their pockets. 

Among the reasons for the hike cited by Comparis is the lower money reserve that insurance carriers have to keep at a certain level at all times.

Schneuwly said the predicted increase is a result of the politically enforced reduction in reserves which has left many health insurance companies lacking the reserve cushion to withstand the current cost fluctuations. According to Comparis, in order to ensure that not every cost fluctuation leads to a premium fluctuation, the health insurers need a reserve cushion above the legal minimum.

Schneuwly said that had health insurance companies not been forced by the Federal Office of Public Health to reduce reserves, the premiums would only have risen by around 2.5 percent per year and would still remain in that area, rather than increasing by 6 percent as predicted.

The expert, however, expects that the fluctuations in costs will quiet down again and that the increase in costs for medical services at the expense of basic insurance will level off at just under 3 percent in the next few years.

Why are healthcare costs rising?

One of the reasons the Federal Office of Public Health cited for this year’s hike was that the pandemic made estimating healthcare costs “particularly difficult".

But according to the comparison site, the exceptionally strong fluctuations in costs between 2021 and 2023 can only be partially explained by the pandemic.

Greater bureaucracy, cheap medication that cannot be delivered, more psychotherapy, the implementation of the care initiative and more people visiting the doctor all lead to a greater increase in costs, Comparis said.

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Meanwhile, Swiss hospitals are also struggling with finances. 

Earlier this year in March two Bern-based hospitals had to shut due to rising costs, while another hospital in Schwyz is struggling to generate a minimum return of ten percent to see through its renovation project.

According to health economist Simon Wieser from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, questionable investments, the pandemic and "generally low tariffs" have contributed to the financial problems experienced by hospitals.  

Additionally, the shortage of skilled workers means that many hospitals are struggling to find suitable caregivers and instead are forced to employ temporary workers, which cost significantly more.

"The general, inflation-related tariff increases demanded by hospitals have been met with a negative response from health insurers and by Federal Councillor Alain Berset, with reference to the sharp rise in premiums," Schneuwly of Comparis said.